


A Shove In The Right Direction

by misha_anon



Series: Cheesy Tropes Challenge [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: 30 Day Cheesy Tropes Challenge, Alternate Universe - College/University, Embarrassment, First Kiss, In Public, M/M, Secret Crush, Spin the Bottle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-02-03 17:06:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1752257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misha_anon/pseuds/misha_anon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean has had a secret crush on Castiel for <i>years</i>; a friendly game of spin the bottle makes it a little more crush and a lot less secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First kisses are still my favorite thing. XD

"We're grownups," Dean says matter-of-factly, choosing to ignore the fact that 19-year-old-college-freshman _barely_ qualifies as a 'grownup'.  "We're _not_ playing spin the bottle."

"Chickenshit," Victor snorts.  Dean feels his face turning red and curses his genes for making it so easy to make him blush.  His throat is dry as he stares at the bottle on the floor, refusing to look at anyone else sitting in the circle.  

It's a stupid game.  It's a stupid party.  It's a stupid life.  When Garth said Castiel would definitely be here, Dean jumped on the chance to have a valid reason to hang out in the same space for a couple of hours.  After all, he has had a serious - and seriously unrequited - crush on the guy since they first tripped over one another in the hallway their freshman year of _high school_.  He  _obviously_ hadn't thought this one through.

"C'mon," Anna cajoles, "it'll be fun.  Maybe you'll get to kiss me!"

Dean's outlook brightens considerably as he realizes that it's a pretty big circle and mostly female, so the chance that he'll be faced with kissing Castiel is actually slim.  He wavers, looking up to see Anna, the cute redhead Jo keeps trying to set him up with, smiling encouragingly.

"Okay, fine," he says, trying to quash the tightness in his chest that comes with the fleeting hope that maybe it _will_ be Castiel after all.  No, no, no, no, no.  That's the _last_ thing he needs tonight.

"You spin first," Garth tells him, slapping him on the back as he says it.  "Then, you'll be off the hook."

Without argument, Dean leans forward and takes the bottle between his thumb and one finger, careful to look anywhere _except_ at Castiel.  He spins the bottle, his heart thumping wildly as it makes the unmistakable sound of glass scraping wood - or impending doom.  When it finally stops, a whoop goes up from the guys in the group and Jo snickers and elbows Dean in the ribs.

"Looks like Cas is the lucky girl," Anna says teasingly.  Dean's heart stops and his stomach does a little flip.  When he finally gets up the courage to look, Castiel's face is turning pink and his blue eyes are wide.  He smiles at Dean and pushes to his feet in one slow motion, catching his bottom lip between his teeth nervously.

"What are you waiting for, Dean?"  Victor's voice is filled with sadistic glee.

Dean glares daggers at him and takes his time standing up, trying to rein in his shallow breathing and make his heart slow down before it explodes.  Castiel smiles again, then ducks his head and clears his throat; that certainly doesn't help.  As a chant of "do it, do it, do it" goes up from around the circle, Dean steps up to his intended kissee and whispers, "We don't have to."

"No," Castiel says quickly, then blushes deeper pink and looks up.  "I mean, it's okay.  I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"  Dean asks, studiously ignoring the jackasses still sitting on the floor who've switched their chant to "kiss him!" while he and Castiel negotiate.

Cas takes a quick breath and grabs the front of Dean's shirt, yanking him forward so hard he squeaks in surprise.  Before he has time to catch his balance, Castiel's lips are pressed to his and Dean loses the capacity for rational thought.  He reaches up and cups Castiel's jaw with his palm, a thrill shivering down his spine at the drag of Castiel's chapped lips.

Dean barely hears the cheering and exclamations from everyone else because after a long, chaste kiss, Castiel's tongue is teasing at the swell of his bottom lip.  The grip on his t-shirt tightens and twists even as his stomach dips hotly and his head spins because _Castiel is actually fucking kissing him_.  It only lasts for a few seconds before Castiel pulls away, breathless and blushing deep red, but that's enough for Dean to understand that maybe his crush isn't _quite_ as unrequited as he thought it was.

Dean opens his eyes slowly to see blue eyes sparkling with mischief when Castiel answers, "I'm sure."


	2. Chapter 2

Dean doesn't even try to wipe the smitten grin off his face as he sits back down between Jo and Garth.  With just one kiss, he feels as though there's been a monumental shift in his entire life, the sort of change that has the potential to make his life a whole lot better; a feeling that's only reinforced when he looks across the circle and sees Castiel watching him.

The rest of the party is torture.  Everyone gets bored with spin the bottle long before it comes back around to Dean; in fact, it's Castiel who suggests they play something else when it's his turn.  No other game springs quickly to mind, so the partygoers break off into smaller groups to dance or talk or just hang out.  Dean gravitates closer to Castiel, though he still can't bring himself to _talk_ to him.

"It's so loud," Castiel says nonchalantly when Dean finally works up the courage to approach him.  "You wanna go for a walk?"

"Yeah," Dean says, nodding to emphasize his answer.  "Yeah, I'd like that."

No one notices them slip away; or, if they do, they don't say anything.  Dean falls into step beside Castiel as they head down the sidewalk toward the middle of the campus; he doesn't ask where they're going; he's just happy to be going _somewhere_ with Cas.  They end up on top of the student union building, sitting side by side on a long, low metal box and looking out over the moonlit campus.  Dean doesn't ask where Castiel got the key.

Whenever he tries to talk, his voice feels choked and nervous and he's painfully aware of every word that comes out of his mouth.  Conversation moves in fits and starts; it's hard, Dean discovers, to make small talk with someone you sort of almost know but don't really know at all. That doesn't stop either of them from trying, though.

During a lull on the topic of musical preferences, Castiel slides his fingers surreptitiously between Dean's without saying a word.  Dean's heart races as their fingers entwine loosely and he steels himself for rejection as he leans closer to Castiel.  When he turns his head, Cas is already looking at him and their lips are so close, it's easy to steal a chaste kiss. They break apart almost as quickly as they touch and Dean can feel the blush rising in his cheeks again as he looks out over the expanse of tree tops below.

"When I was in high school, I had the biggest crush on this guy who didn't even know I existed," Dean says after a moment of silence, his voice only cracking a little.  Castiel's fingers squeeze a little tighter on his and he finds himself feeling braver.  "We had at least one class together every year and it was so always so awkward."

Castiel only laughs a little, a sound that makes Dean's stomach go liquid and gooey and squirmy until he has to close his eyes to try to make it stop before he makes a complete idiot of himself.  He feels a pressure against his arm and opens his eyes to see Castiel leaned against him, smiling.  He doesn't have time to say anything before they're kissing again.

It's gentle and imprecise, the discomfort of the weird angle as pronounced as the thrill of feeling Castiel's tongue tip teasing against his own again.  Dean forgets to hold his breath and pushes into the kiss so hard their noses smash together and their teeth bump, but Castiel doesn't seem to mind; he just raises his free hand to Dean's cheek to tilt his head a little and they settle into something a little less inelegant for a moment.  It's nice, Dean thinks, he likes the way Castiel's lips feel against his own.

When they pull apart, the impossibly tight vise around Dean's chest loosens a little and he quickly looks away, squinting to try to find Victor's house at the edge of the campus to distract himself from the butterflies going crazy in his stomach.  He licks his lips, tasting the fruit punch Castiel spent the whole party drinking, and smiles.  He's trying to think of something to say when Castiel squeezes his fingers again.

"Maybe people notice more than we think," Cas says quietly, his voice a little rough and breathless.  It takes Dean a second to figure out what he's talking about, but when he does, the squirminess in his belly invades his chest and makes it hard to breathe.  He knows his face is red again, and he's thankful that clouds are making the moon a little less bright.  He's still not sure what to say when Castiel adds, "But, having classes every day with someone you have a crush on is the _worst_ , isn't it?"

It's Dean's turn to laugh, small and pleased; he couldn't get rid of his grin if he wanted to.  He nods and hums in agreement, then leans into Castiel's shoulder, tilting his head until their temples touch.  Castiel's fingers slip out of Dean's and he's suddenly afraid he's done something wrong.  He freezes in place, holding his breath while he racks his brain to figure out what it could be, but then Castiel's arm settles around his waist to pull their bodies a little closer.

"High school kids are so dumb," Castiel murmurs, pressing his temple harder to Dean's.  "Thank God we're grownups now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that _I_ don't think all high school kids are dumb. That's Castiel's view on the matter, not mine. *u*


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean couldn't be happier to be dating Castiel; but he's not _quite_ so happy about Cas' desire to take him home to meet the family for Christmas.

“Isn’t it weird,” Dean says as he looks up from where he’s sprawled in the middle of Castiel’s dorm room floor, “how we both ended up computer majors even though we had  _nothing_  in common in high school?”

Castiel looks down from where he’s stretched out on his bed and gives a slow, thoughtful nod.  “Yeah, I guess so.”

Dean looks back down at his textbook, refusing to engage in the  _other_  conversation Cas has been trying to have with him for the last hour.  He flips lazily to the next page and stares at the bold “Building A Home Network” chapter title, studiously ignoring Castiel’s gaze boring into the top of his head, then flips back to the last page and tries again to read it.

“I just want you to consider it, Dean,” Castiel says quietly.

Dean’s jaw clenches and he closes the book carefully before sitting up, trying to gather his thoughts as he does so.  It isn’t that he hasn’t considered the idea of going home with Cas for Christmas break; it’s that he’s considered it and decided that it’s a  _terrible_  idea.  When he finally looks up, he sees Castiel watching him in that intense-bordering-on-creepy way he has, like Dean is some kind of code error he can’t  _quite_  figure out.

“Look, Cas,” Dean starts.  He pauses and licks his lips before deciding he might as well be honest about the fact that he’s utterly terrified of going home with his boyfriend - and why. “Your dad is a preacher and your mom is the church secretary.”

“So?”  The challenge is clear in Castiel’s voice.

“So, we’re.. “  Dean struggles for words, pointing to himself and then to Castiel instead.

“ _So_?”  Castiel says again, this time impatiently.“So, your  _dad_  is a preacher and your  _mom’s_  a church secretary!”

Cas tilts his head and stares harder at Dean, who suddenly wishes he’d followed his instincts and  _not_  gotten himself into this stupid conversation.  After a moment of heavy silence, Castiel blinks as though he’s just figured everything out.

“Wait a minute,” he says, slipping off the bed onto the floor and moving closer to Dean.  “You think my parents don’t  _know_  about me?  About  _us_?”

“I..  well..  “  Confusion twists through Dean, a sharp ache that leaves him off-balance and grasping for.  “I just..  I just figured because they were..  you know..”  He stops and stares down at his own hands, now clenched tightly in his lap.  His voice trembles when he says, “ _My_  dad doesn’t know, so I thought..”

Tears sting Dean’s eyes, and before he can say anything else, Castiel’s warm hands are cupping his face gently to pull his chin up.  With some difficulty, he forces himself to meet a familiar blue gaze, to look into eyes he’s  _sure_  will be angry or disappointed.  Instead, Cas’ brows are knit in concern as he leans in closer to whisper, “My parents know everything and they  _want_  to meet you, Dean.”

“Really?”  The word catches in Dean’s throat and he swallows hard, blinking to clear the threatening tears away.

“Of course they do,” Castiel says, his voice a little thick.  He leans in and presses a gentle kiss to Dean’s lips, his thumb brushing over the sweep of Dean’s cheekbone as he does.  A long moment later, he pulls away to finish: “They’re really looking forward to meeting the man who makes me so happy.”

Dean’s ‘I’ll go” gets lost somewhere between their lips as two more kisses come in quick succession, but he’s  _pretty_  sure Castiel understands what he’s trying to say.


End file.
